The data breach occurred over a three month period where roughly 45 faxes which contained confidential data belonging to patients were accidentally sent to the wrong person. The Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust meant to fax the patient lists to St John’s Hospice. These patient lists contained information which related to 59 people and their diagnoses, their domestic situation and resuscitation instructions.

After a three month period of receiving these patient lists, the individual who had been receiving them eventually told Blighty’s health service. The individual stated that they have been receiving these patient lists and that they had shredded them to ensure that the information didn’t go any further.

ICO head of enforcement Stephen Eckersley has commented on this case. Eckersley stated, “Patients rely on the NHS to keep their details safe. In this case Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust failed to keep their patients sensitive information secure. The fact that this information was sent to the wrong recipient for three months without anyone noticing makes this case all the more worrying.”

This is the latest case where the ICO have had to conduct an investigation because of a number of errors. Firstly, The Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust didn’t have stringent enough measures in place to stop such an error occurring. Secondly, the staff hadn’t been adequately trained on data protection. These two factors combined are the main reason for the ICO imposing the hefty fine.

The trend of confidential data being compromised by people working in the public sector is set to continue as it is very evident that there are still members of staff who haven’t been appropriately trained on data protection. Yet again, this case suggests that we are still acting reactively and not proactively. The need for more stringent measures to be implemented and all members of staff to be adequately trained in data protection is increasing day by day as the implications become more severe if appropriate measures are not in place.

ICO hit NHS with a £90,000 fine is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The survey that was conducted by the Guardian attracted more than 3,000 participants where the user conducted a speed test and provided some information such as which broadband provider they are using, the speed that their broadband provider say they are receiving and the actual results from their speed test. This survey was conducted as the Guardian wanted to create an up to date map of Britain which distinguishes the difference between advertised speeds and speeds received.

The key findings that have so far been published by the newspaper have revealed that, “Customers are paying for an average of 12 megabits per second, but actually receiving 7Mbps, a gap of 42%.”

The response to the survey has also revealed that many participants have struggled with poor speeds when the weather has been bad. The newspaper claimed, “Readers complained of broadband blackspots in city centres, of exposed copper lines that fail in bad weather and of having to move businesses out of homes because of poor connections.”

The published result of the survey revealed that TalkTalk and Sky broadband users were receiving the slowest speeds from those advertised with an astonishing 60% difference. “TalkTalk and Sky customers reported a 60% shortfall, the widest gap between median advertised and actual services. TalkTalk subscribers had been promised an average speed of 8Mbps, but were receiving 5Mbps, and Sky customers were promised an average 12Mbps and received 4.8Mbps.”

At the other end of the scale, it was the BT broadband users who reported the best results with a 25% difference between advertised speeds and the speeds received. “BT’s customers fared best, paying for 8Mbps and receiving a quarter less at 6Mbps.”

From April, broadband suppliers can now only advertise up to speeds if at least 10% of their customers are receiving them. As a broadband company has to only ensure that a small percentage of their customers are receiving a certain speed, many customers are still being misled to believe that they are receiving a broadband speed that in reality much slower.

This survey has raised the awareness and importance to check the broadband speeds that you are receiving compared to those that you are paying for. So far, thousands of broadband users have now realised that they have been paying over the odds for a service which is nowhere near the standard that was offered.

The way forward is to conduct a speed test on an independent site and if the results show that you are not receiving an adequate percentage of the speed that you are paying for, contact your broadband supplier and find out if they have any procedures in place for this issue.

UK Broadband Users Paying Over the Odds is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office has confirmed that they expect a huge amount of cyber-attacks but that everything is being put in place to ensure that the London Olympics remains safe.

Maude stated, “The Beijing Olympics saw 12 million cyber security incidents during their Olympics. We have rightly been preparing for some time; a dedicated unit will help guard the London Olympics against cyber-attack. We are determined to have a safe and secure Games.”

During a speech in Estonia, Maude has expressed how important it is to have a substantial cyber security system in place and the importance of being flexible and to keep adapting to the ever changing cyber-attack threats.

Maude stated, “UK Government networks continue to be regularly targeted by foreign intelligence agencies, or groups working on their behalf and we know that the threat is accelerating. High- end cyber security solutions that were used 18 months ago by a limited number of organisations to protect their networks may already be out in the open marketplace, giving cyber criminals the knowledge to get round these protective measures. Our responses have to be fast and flexible. What works one day is unlikely to work a matter of months or even weeks later.”

With the publicity and hype that is around any Olympic Games, there is no doubt that the cyber security team for the London Olympics will have their hands full. The Olympics present the perfect opportunity for a cyber-hacker to try and make his or her name in the cyber attacker community. It is good to see that the threat is being taken very seriously and that they are acting proactively and not reactively.

Cyber Team Preparing to Protect London Olympics from Cyber Attacks is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The malware was first discovered on Sunday and forced the Iranian authorities to disconnect the main oil export terminal on Kharg Island which is in the Persian Gulf. The virus name has yet to be disclosed but it was a data deleing virus which could have had catastrophic consequences if it wasn’t found when it was done. The Iranian authorities acted decisively and therefore prevented the virus from spreading and therefore made the actions that were undertaken very effective in containing it. The Iranian authorities have confirmed this and stated that they had to disconnect the oil export terminal so prevent the virus from spreading.

Iran’s deputy oil minister, Hamdolah Mohammadnejad has confirmed the events and told the official IRNA news agency that the actions implemented stopped the virus from spreading and therefore limiting the impact it could have had.

Mohammadnejad stated, “We shut computers connected to these servers temporarily and fortunately we were able to stop its spread. Thus no information or data were harmed. We are investigating the causes of these cyber problems and in the next two to three days we hope the problems will be solved.”

As an investigation is underway, David Harley who is a senior researcher at the anti-virus company ESET stated, “”At present, it is difficult to say exactly how the virus was able to infiltrate Iran’s systems. Iran’s computing environments are a little unusual, in that there are no legitimate channels for directly supplying and maintaining standard operating systems and apps. This may result in greater than usual exposure to all kinds of exploits.”

This case does prove that as long as decisive and calculated actions are taken when a threat such as a virus is found, data loss can be minimal or prevented all together. It is important that effective plans are in place alongside an effective security system and to ensure that everyone knows what they are meant to do in such an occasion.

Iranian Authorities Prevents Data Loss After Virus Discovered is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The main role of the ICO is to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals in the UK. The ICO can impose a fine of up to £500,000.00 for any serious breach of the Data Protection Act.

Leicestershire County Council initially got into trouble when a social worker took home some confidential court documents in May last year.  These documents were left in a briefcase in the social worker’s home during the night rather than in a secure location in the house. The social worker had obtained permission to take the documents home but they hadn’t received the relevant data protection training and therefore appropriate procedures were not followed. The social worker’s house was broken into that night and the burglar stole the briefcase with the documents inside. If the social worker had received the data protection training, they would have known that the documents should have been kept in a secure location in the house, preferably under lock and key.

Stephen Eckersley, The ICO’s head of enforcements claimed, “While Leicestershire County Council already recognised the risks associated with home working and had produced guidance for their staff, the guidance did not explain how papers containing personal information should be kept secure.”

Eckersley later argued, “Local authorities must recognise social workers are handling some of the most sensitive information available. The fact this information often relates to vulnerable young children means it is all the more important for these organisations to provide staff with adequate training and guidance on how to keep this information secure.”

A County Hall spokesman has responded to this outcome stating, “The county council takes data security extremely seriously. As soon as it became aware a briefcase had been stolen from a social worker’s house, the Information Commissioner was informed. We already have comprehensive information security arrangements in place and constantly explore how we can improve these. This case has led us to reorganise our priorities.”

The County Hall spokesman later added, “We have made it clear staff should not take confidential documents home unless it is absolutely necessary for their work and they have their manager’s permission. If they do take documents home, they must lock them in a secure place.”

This latest case of data loss suggests that many people are still acting reactively towards data loss incidents and not proactively. Surely questions should remain why the social worker was allowed to take the confidential court documents home in the first place as they hadn’t even received the relevant data protection training.

Leicestershire County Council Escape Fine after Data Loss is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The Chinese authorities have responded quickly, taking the affected sites offline. However, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) was successful in finding an affected site before it had been taken offline. A screen shot that was taken revealed a message written in English saying:

‘Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall. So expect us because we do not forgive, never. What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you. With no mercy.’

The WSJ also commented that on that same site that has now been taken offline, there was link that would divert the user to an Anonymous site which detailed how hackers could bypass the Great Firewall that the Chinese Government have put in place to help censor and monitor the web activities of the Chinese people.

To further enhance their message, a member of the Anonymous group left a post on the popular website PasteBin.com. The message was an attempt to encourage Chinese people start a revolt against the existing Chinese Government.

The message read, “So, we are writing this message to tell you that you should protest, you should revolt yourself protesting and who has the skills for hacking and programming and design and other ‘computer things’ come to our IRC.”

Surprisingly, this is the first time that the group Anonymous group have targeted the Chinese Government. The main reason for the group to target this government is the web censorship regulations and their stance towards human rights. The Chinese Government currently blocks website content and monitor internet access for the Chinese people.

The overall impact that these hacks have had is yet to be seen but many feel that the Chinese Government will not be too concerned at this moment of time. The main reason for this are that the sites that were defaced, displayed messages in English, which many Chinese people will not have been able to understand.

The attacks on the Chinese Government look set to continue as the hacktivist group are looking for someone who will be able to translate their messages into Chinese. If the attacks do continue and become more successful in sending out a message to the Chinese people, it will be interesting to see how the Chinese Government responds.

Anonymous Attack China is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

During recent times, Pastebin.com has become a favoured website with hacktivist groups such as LulzSec and Anonymous who dump large amounts of stolen data and leave it there for all to see.

Vader has revealed that since he has become the owner of the website in 2010, the popularity has increased and it now attracts on average 17 million visitors a month. With the website attracting so many people, the monitoring system that is in place to flag up any inappropriate data is struggling to keep up. At the moment, Vader is relying on an abuse report system to flag up any inappropriate data but it has now reached the stage where the system isn’t responsive enough. On average, PasteBin currently receives 1,200 abuse reports a day and therefore the need for extra staff to monitor the content on the website is becoming more important.

Vader stated, “I am looking to hire some extra people soon to monitor more of the website content, not just the items reported. Hopefully this will increase the speed in which we can remove sensitive information.”

Members of the website are asked not to post personal or stolen pieces of information but this does not deter members of the hacktivist groups. The website is also used by hacktivists to test the effectiveness of distributed denial- of- service attack (DDoS) tools. The aim of these tools is to make a computer or network resource unavailable to the intended user(s).

Vader commented, “In the last three months not a single day has gone by that we didn’t get some kind of DDoS attack. I do hear from people in the hackers’ community that many hackers like to test their DDOS skills on Pastebin.”

Once the new employees are in place, it will be interesting to see whether the hacktivist groups continue to dump stolen data on this website if the length of time that it remains on the site is reduced.

Favoured Website for Hackers to Dump Data is set to Take Action is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Leeds, UK & Houston US – April 2, 2012 – Asigra Inc., a leading Cloud Backup™, Recovery and Restore (BURR) software provider since 1986, today announced that its partner, Backup Technology Limited (BTL), a cloud backup and disaster recovery provider, will present on the advantages of cloud-based Virtual Disaster Recovery (VDR) at the 2012 Storage Networking World (SNW) conference in Dallas. In this presentation, Colesante will review the key deliverables of VDR when deployed to expedite business recovery in the event of a data loss event. The session is part of the business continuity track at SNW and begins at 10:15 a.m. CT on April 2, 2012.

Tweet This:, Backup Technology Limited (BTL), powered by @Asigra to Present on Virtual Disaster Recovery at SNW 2012 in Dallas #cloud #disasterrecovery

WHO:         Mike Colesante, Director of North American Operations, BTL

WHAT:        SNW Business Continuity Session: Industry Perspective on Cloud-based Virtual Disaster Recovery

WHEN:       Tuesday, April 2nd at 10:15 a.m. CT

WHERE:     Omni Dallas Hotel, Dallas, Texas

As IT budgets recover in 2012, a growing number of organizations are engaged in business continuity redesign to enhance uptime. Cloud-based Virtual Disaster Recovery (VDR) is becoming the option of choice for organizations whose business continuity plans call for faster recovery and increased business agility. VDR focuses on backing up virtual machines instead of physical servers, which has traditionally required the re-installation of the operating system and the use of local-client backup applications to recover applications and data. With VDR, recovery is much quicker since there is no need to re-install the operating system and applications on a physical server. Instead, virtual machines are recovered with these elements intact. VDR advantages include:

• High-speed recovery: Critical when time is of the essence and a production data center becomes unavailable.
• Recoverability of virtualized applications: With the flexibility of recovering to either the same or disparate hardware platforms.
• Location independence: The ability to recover data to the location of choice for greater operational agility.
• Many-to-one recovery: Provides greater efficiency and allows companies to get the most out of fewer recovery servers compared to the production site.

Guidance on cloud-based VDR strategies and techniques will be provided during Colesante’s presentation to help organizations ensure access to critical business applications and data when required.

“Virtual disaster recovery allows organizations to customize their recovery processes to fit their IT environment. It expedites recovery while eliminating the complexity, costs and risks of traditional approaches,” said Colesante. “As companies move toward virtualized infrastructures, new strategies and solutions are needed that provide greater DR flexibility and control. Cloud-based VDR offers an innovative approach that is ideal on many levels for most organizations.”

Follow Asigra on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/asigra

Follow Backup Technology on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/backuptech

About Backup Technology

Backup Technology has established itself as the world leading Online Backup and Disaster Recovery provider.  With individual customer data sizes ranging from 50GB to over 100TB, they currently protect well over 8 Petabytes including billions of files.  With clients across industries, be it public or private sector, including charities such as the British Red Cross to Premier League Football clubs such as Liverpool FC and global brands like Master Lock, Backup Technology has an impressive portfolio of customers.   For more information, visit http://www.backup-technology.com/

About Asigra
Asigra is the leading Canadian cloud computing vendor focused on backup, recovery and restoration with more than 550,000 customer sites deployed globally. Asigra Cloud Backup™ transforms the way businesses manage and protect their data by delivering seamless end-to-end data protection that efficiently scales and easily adapts to any IT environment. Asigra Cloud Backup is built for progressive Managed Service Providers who focus on driving growth and increasing their total addressable market to better service their customers, IT constrained organizations, and industries with compliance mandates that are looking to improve their backup with a secure, proven and flexible cloud backup and recovery model. With more than 26 years of experience as backup/recovery pioneers, Asigra manages one of the largest business-class backup service provider ecosystems in the world who power their cloud backup services using Asigra technology. Asigra is recognized among top-tier industry analysts, including the Enterprise Strategy Group, Gartner, IDC, Forrester Research and the 451 Group. Recently, the company was recognized by Business Solutions Magazine as a Best Channel Vendor for 2012 and Storage Magazine named Asigra Cloud Backup its 2011 Product of the Year. Asigra is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices globally. For more information, visit www.asigra.com.

Backup Technology to Present on Virtual Disaster Recovery at Storage Networking World 2012 in Dallas is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

In a statement that was released by ESingles, they proclaimed “At this time there is no actual evidence that MilitarySingles.com was hacked and it is possible that the Tweet from Operation Digiturk is simply a false claim.” The company then stated that it will treat this claim as if it were real and precede with the required security steps in order to ensure the website and its database is secure.”

If the website MilitarySingles.com has been hacked, the main concern is the .mil addresses and passwords that haven been compromised. If a member has signed up to the website using their .mil email address and used the same password, this could lead to confidential military information being compromised which could have unprecedented results.

On the MilitarySingles website, there are no warning messages of a possible breach and no indication that data may have been compromised. On the homepage, a statement still remains about how seriously they have taken security measures, “”We are fanatical about your privacy and security. Our site is constantly monitored using state-of-the-art technology. We have spared no expense that your personal information is stored and encrypted securely, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Zach Lanier, a security researcher, advises that any members of the dating website change their passwords. He also added that everyone should ensure that they use complex passwords. Lanier went as far as stating that he doesn’t even know most of his passwords because he keeps them in a password vault.

Military Personnel Data Could Be Compromised After Dating Website Hacked is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

These regulations are a re-vamp of those outlined in 1995 and will have far reaching effects on the way in which public sector bodies process personal information.

New rules include “right to be forgotten” and a strong obligation for organisations to report data loss “as soon as possible.”

The commissioner argued that through simplifying the current set of rules in place businesses could expect to save $2bn a year.

Viviance Reding, The Justice Commissioner had this to say:

“My proposals will help build trust in online services because people will be better informed about their rights and more in control of their information.”

The new laws are predicted to be “hugely beneficial to SMEs,” as stated by Le Bail, Director General of the Commission’s Justice. This is down to them removing much of the red tape which accompanies the old data regime.

One thing which is hugely emphasised by new EU regulation is ‘Protection by Design.’ Modern privacy strategy has to be strategic, combining people, regulation and understanding.

When considering whether to upgrade certain services there are many safe harbour considerations to take into account such as not moving data out of the EU.

“Modern CIOs have to create ‘security by design’ if they want to do their job properly. We don’t have to convince people, either; security is absolutely core working culture,” stated Kurt Frary ICT manager at Norfolk county council.

Data Protection by Design is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.